The party has joined in damage control after Swami Prasad Maurya, a minister in the Yogi government, left the BJP. The central and state leadership frozen in Delhi not only tried to strengthen their side, but also made a dent in the opposition camp. This has created panic in the opposition camp. Its effect was that Sirsaganj MLA Hari Om Yadav, who is said to be very close to the Mulayam family, and Naresh Saini, MLA from Behat assembly seat of Saharanpur, joined BJP in Delhi. Similarly, Dr. Dharampal Singh, former BSP MLA from Etmadpur seat of Agra, who recently joined SP, also joined BJP.
On the other hand, Congress MLA Naresh Saini has joined the BJP due to the changed politics due to Imran Masood joining the SP. Priyanka Gandhi’s concern has also increased due to the breakdown of both Congress MLAs. Earlier, Congress MLA from Rae Bareli Aditi Singh had also joined BJP. SP MLA from Sirsaganj Hari Om Yadav has also joined BJP. Just two days ago, Congress leader Imran Masood and Congress MLA from Saharanpur Dehat seat Masood Akhtar had joined the SP. After this, Congress MLA from Behat seat Naresh Saini joined the BJP on Wednesday. Naresh Saini joined BJP in the presence of BJP State President Swatantra Dev Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in Lucknow. The Congress had two MLAs in Saharanpur and within a span of two days, one joined the SP and the other the BJP. This has dealt a big blow to Congress.
BJP made a dent in SP’s stronghold: The BJP has made a dent in the Sirsaganj assembly constituency, which is considered to be a stronghold of SP in Firozabad. MLA Hari Om Yadav, who was expelled from the SP after several days of exercise, joined the BJP on Wednesday. The Sirsaganj assembly seat, formed in 2012, has been considered a SP stronghold. In the Yadav-dominated area, Hari Om Yadav of SP had won in 2012 and 2017. After the formation of the BJP government in 2017, a ruckus started with his SP leadership regarding the no-confidence motion in the district panchayat. Hari Om and his son former district panchayat president Vijay Pratap were expelled from the SP. Then Hari Om Yadav openly went with Shivpal Yadav and opened a front against the chief national general secretary of SP, Prof Ram Gopal Yadav. The ongoing feud with Prof Yadav intensified after the defeat of his son Akshay Yadav in the Lok Sabha elections. In the election of district panchayat, BJP took Hari Om Yadav as its president.
BJP on not getting a reply from Shivpal: After Praspa chief Shivpal Singh’s alliance with SP, Hari Om Yadav started seeing hope of a return to SP. But Prof Ramgopal Yadav was not ready to return Hari Om. With no positive response from Shivpal, Hariom decided to join the BJP.
Relationship with Mulayam Singh: Hari Om Yadav’s real brother Ram Prakash Nehru’s daughter is married in Saifai family. Hariom is the maternal grandfather of Tej Pratap, a former MP from Mainpuri. Thakur votes are also in good numbers in Sirsaganj. Last time former minister Thakur Jaiveer Singh was a BJP candidate and Hari Om defeated him. Now both are on the same team.